Oye: APGA Has No Plans to Align with APC
The Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Oye has dismissed claims that his party has a secret pact with the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying APGA’s ideology is different from that of APC. He spoke with Onyebuchi Ezigbo wh
How did your party take the victory at the just concluded governorship election in Anambra State? The victory of Governor Obiano was a collective victory for all Igbos because Igbos from all works of life gave their support to him directly or indirectly. Then all APGAs all over the world threw their support behind Obiano and this was what led to the victory. Then another thing that contributed to Obiano’s victory was his outstanding performance as governor and that is the way APGA operates. APGA produces governors that perform. Peter Obi performed for 8 years, Obiano is performing, he is going to end his four years first tenure on the 17th of March 2018 and he will start another tenure and by the time he finishes APGA would have done 16 years in Anambra State. You know what that amounts to in terms of development and total change. Now if you look at the wall here, you will see that every community in Anambra state has projects, 108 of them N20 million each and by next year it will increase to N40 million to each community which means that by the time Obiano leaves office in 2022 every community in Anambra would have done projects worth. N200 million which has never happened anywhere in Nigeria. This is what we call crystallization of development. What he is doing here is what we call grassroot development because he has now taken development to the people. Imagine where all the communities around us, each of them carry out N200 million worth of project; Anambra would be a different place all together in another five years and don’t forget in the next three years Obiano will give us an airport.
Does APGA have a succession plan in place to make Obiano’s second term less rancorous? We are not thinking of a successor for now because he has just been re-elected. I think that should be a matter for another time. May be, by the time he would have done two years of his second term then we would begin to see the picture which would be much clearer but what I can tell you is that we are ready for anything, we plan for the future. When Obiano came, he had a clear cut vision of what he wanted to do and he is following his vision diligently that is why you see things happening around here. He is a man that is contented with what he has and very intelligent governor with charisma; he has a language for everybody. So I am very happy that things turned out this way for the people of Anambra state because they are in for good times. The next four years will be full of action. At least we are sure of an international airport in Anambra in the next three years. So if you want to fly to America just fifteen minutes drive to the airport instead of going to Enugu thinking of how to get to Lagos and America. That journey alone will be enough for you to travel half way to America.
What about winning elections in neighbouring states, why is APGA not expanding? How could you say that we are not spreading out? We have done that. This is a new era in this party. We are building a new structure that will take this party to the top and that is why we don’t make noise. The dog that makes noise doesn’t bite. So what we are doing here is to remain focused. We have built our development on a plan on four pillars; oil and gas, industrialization, trade and commerce, and agriculture. Those are the pillars and you know what pillars mean in a structure? The pillars hold the entire structure. Then in the same structure you now have what they call the cross beams, the plans, all of them make the structure homogenous. So what we are trying to achieve in Anambra is homogeneity in our structure of development. This administration came with a vision and is doing exactly that. I have worked with four governors I have never seen one as visionary as this. He knows where he is going to and he knows how to get there. One beautiful thing about this administration is, if he tells you he is doing a project the man is already there. The government doesn’t owe contractors. Contractors are paid their dues. We don’t owe civil servants pension, gratuity or salaries. As we speak every civil servant has got his leave allowance for 2017 which has never happened anywhere. Other states are talking of paying salaries; they are not talking of leave allowance. Some got their leave allowance as far back as 2007.
How would you replicate this fit in Anambra in other states in the South-east It is on our template. That is why we want Nigerians to give us the opportunity. I know power isn’t given but taken but I can tell you Nigerians can key to our vision. When I was interviewed after the results were announced, I said that APGA government naturally could change the face of this country. We can turn things around. We have the capacity to do it. Everything about development is planning.
Are you planning to present a candidate in 2019? When we get to the bridge we will cross it. You know what we do in APGA is that we always allow God to show us the way. When God tell us what to do in 2019 we will follow God’s guidance.
People are saying that APGA is likely to align with the ruling APC. We don’t share the same ideology with APC and no one gave us that condition to do anything. We are independent and going according to the dictates of God. God is the one leading us.
Before the election, there were heated arguments between former governor Peter Obi and Obiano. Now that election has been won and lost, do you see that bad blood continuing? Obiano is a bit hesitant. He doesn’t talk easily, he takes his time. Now Peter Obi has been the aggressor, it is very important to note that. Since the day Obiano was sworn in as governor Peter Obi started antagonising him for no justification rather than greed and lust for power. Now as a rational human being can you point out one thing that Obiano did against Peter Obi? Nothing! The matter has been brought to the public domain and there was nothing Peter Obi didn’t say against Obiano yet Obiano remained calm. I can vouch for Obiano, he is not giving in to abusive words. You can insult Obiano from now till tomorrow Obiano will not abuse you. I have never seen that kind of discipline in my life. So Peter Obi took advantage of that because since the governor doesn’t respond to his activities against him so he turned it against him, he took over the airwaves, everyone was insulting the governor yet he kept calm and what was the cause of the problem? Money! He said that it was alleged that there was N7.5 billion, whose money was that? And by the way was account opened for that money to show that you gave the money to the governor? Nothing to prove; he was just making wild allegations. As far as I am concerned as an insider in this system Obiano did not do anything to Peter Obi but Peter Obi all of a sudden just became so aggressive because he saw that Obiano is succeeding. Secondly, envy because he thought he would be the only governor that would achieve second term in Anambra because he was telling people after him no other governor will be able to achieve second term and when he saw it was going to happen in Obiano’s tenure he started attacking him and he brought somebody, the former secretary to the governor thinking the man will turn the table he didn’t know that he was living in the past, that we have gone higher and higher. So by the time the chips were down Peter Obi was no were to be found. Up till today he hasn’t spoken because he was beaten hands down. How many votes did PDP score in Anambra state? This is an APGA state. Peter Obi achieved all he achieved, made all the noise he made because he was with us. Immediately he left us he lost his heritage and he lost his manhood. So if you lose your manhood how can you impregnate a woman? So he left APGA and went into PDP as a castrated man politically. There is no way he would have impregnated PDP and by the time he got into PDP, PDP had already reached menopause so it became double wahala for dead body. So Peter Obi tried to play god and God said ‘No I remain the God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End’ and He told the man there can’t be two Gods and God has silenced him, buried him politically.
Before the election, there were legal issues about the leadership of the party. Some group tried to upstage the leadership of the party under you. Do you think the matter has been laid to rest or are we expecting more legal fireworks? What is firework? Has there been any firework? All these things that happened in the past, I never felt they existed. That is the truth and the reason is, none of them had any foundation in law so there was no way they would have stood. They started with Ozoh Nwanbueze, he did not succeed . The next one came, he kissed the dust and he has nine perpetual injunctions hanging on his neck. Even as we speak it will be difficult for anybody in the party to raise any frivolous thing; it can’t work because there is an existing court judgement.
Which judgement? Court of Appeal in Ibadan gave a judgement in favour of APGA. Some NWC members took the party to court and they lost at the lower court so they went to the Court of Appeal and the appeal court said they were rascals, why should they try what they tried? In fragrant disregard of the constitution of the party of 2014 as amended and that has silenced it. Let me tell you the other man called Martins Agbaso is not a member of our party. Besides, he didn’t contest election in the party, so what right did he have to go to court in the first place? He didn’t even go to court himself he used somebody called Mike Alioto; I hope you are aware of that case. So his name isn’t even in the case so that is why he is an interloper. The man that should have been seeking the chairmanship should be Alioto and not Agbaso because Agbaso never took anybody to court. So why should you benefit from something you didn’t add to? Is the court now a Father Christmas? So Agbaso shouldn’t even be in the picture but because of the way our system is structured. If it were abroad that man should be resting in prison by now but here in Nigeria anything goes and I still call on the Nigerian police to arrest that man because he is an impersonator and we have written a petition to the NJC over the absurd judgement of the lower court in Enugu, a strong petition acknowledged by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and I have a copy. So we are going to take this matter to its logical end and until we get justice.